Matcha is processed green tea leaves that have been stone-ground into a delicate powder. The powder is then sifted and whisked with hot water. Matcha has become popular, particularly in the health and beauty sectors, because green tea is believed to be high in antioxidants. Regular steeped green tea is considered healthy because of the leaves' properties, but you are only consuming a fraction of the leaf. In the case of matcha, one consumes the entire leaf, making it exponentially more healthful. One serving of matcha tea is the nutritional equivalent of 10 cups of regularly brewed green tea.

Matcha tea is specially grown. The matcha bushes are covered for up to 20 days prior to harvest to shade the leaves from direct sunlight to boost the plants' chlorophyll levels. Doing so increases the production of L-Theanine, an amino acid that occurs naturally in the tea plant. It's L-Theanine that gives the tea the tendency to both calm and stimulate at the same time.

Workers only pick the best buds. The leaves that are rolled out flat before drying become Tencha, which is the leaf used for making matcha. Once the leaf is de-veined, de-stemmed, and stone-ground, it becomes the fine powder known as matcha.

All About Mousse

Mousse is a sweetened dessert with whipped cream as a base. A bunch of tasty and wonderful things can be added to the base, such as melted chocolate (for chocolate mousse), puréed fruit, fruit curd, or a prepared custard (like pudding or crème anglaise, a "vanilla sauce" of dairy base and thickened with egg yolks made on the stovetop. Aerators, such as whipped cream, meringue (which is egg whites and sugar), pâte à bombe (whole eggs and/or egg yolks plus sugar), or a combination are folded into the base to make it light and fluffy. Gelatin is used as a stabilizer. The mix is then chilled in a mold.

Hint: while there aren't a lot of ingredients here and the recipe is straightforward, everything is time- and temperature-sensitive. Be prepared and be exact.